THE SIGNS TO WATCH FOR

THE warning signs include a fever, chills and any or several of the following:

SLURRED speech. It may be difficult to follow what someone with sepsis is saying. People sometimes mistakenly think the patient is drunk.

EXTREME pain, normally in the muscles and joints. ‘This will be more significant than a pain from aching limbs that might respond to ibuprofen,’ says Dr Ron Daniels of the Sepsis Trust.

PASSING no urine. You might notice they haven’t gone to the loo for an unusually long length of time, normally 12 to 13 hours.

SEVERE breathlessness or rapid breathing.

‘I FEEL as if I am going to die.’ As Dr Daniels explains: ‘It is astonishing how many people with sepsis describe feeling this sensation.’

SKIN colour changes or a mottling of the skin.